27) Star Wars Outlaws (2024)

Set in the time gap between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi, Outlaws puts us in the role of Kay Vess, a young scoundrel, as she attempts to form a team for a high stakes heist. At her side is her animal companion, Nix, and ND-5, a droid commando that previously served in the Clone Wars. It was developed by Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment studio, which had been wanting to move beyond the games as a service model, and is notably the first Star Wars game to be developed without EA's involvement since Disney granted them the exclusive rights to produce Star Wars games in 2013.

Unlike numerous other pieces of Star Wars media, Outlaws doesn't introduce us to a new Force user, and when the Force is shown, it's a truly chilling experience that rightfully terrifies the characters involved. It's a fascinating and refreshing take on the Star Wars formula, focusing more on the seedy underbelly of the galaxy than on the much larger war between the rebels and the Empire. The Empire is shown as a (mostly) competent danger that is best avoided rather than confronted.

One of the most interesting, yet sadly underwhelming aspects of the game is the inclusion of a factions system. There are four criminal factions that you encounter, and each of them has their own approval stat. Doing jobs and assisting each faction will raise your reputation with them, which will allow you access to certain areas, grant you discounts at faction aligned merchants, and opens up cosmetics for Kay's gear. Going against a faction will lead to worse prices at vendors, being restricted from certain areas, and lead to hostility when you encounter faction members, going so far as to be attacked on sight. I love this idea on paper. Unfortunately, the execution is poorly implemented. With little effort, you can remain in the good graces of all four factions at once, and there's little incentive to not do so. I would have loved if being in the good graces of one faction automatically put you at odds with another, which does happen from time to time with certain larger objectives. I'm not even wholly against being seen as an ally to all four at once, I just wish that doing so was harder, forcing you to constantly juggle your allegiances with lies and subterfuge.

Unfortunately, this is fairly indicative of the game as a whole. It's filled with ideas that are unique and interesting in a Star Wars game, but ultimately fall flat in implementation. The idea of forming a crew to pull off a heist is amazing, but the game doesn't sell the concept well enough, with each person recruited not having much of a role outside of the plot. The large, seamless open world design is hindered by how empty most of the world feels. Sure, you're rewarded for exploration, but it feels less organic and more like ticking off points on a map, just like any other open world Ubisoft game. Likewise, certain abilities and upgrades will give you access to new locations, but it doesn't feel as rewarding as the game will flat out tell you that those areas are off limits until you get the required upgrades. It all combines to make the world feel less organic and more video gamey.

Some features, however, are brilliantly implemented, such as our animal companion, Nix. In addition to being absolutely adorable, Nix serves numerous mechanical purposes that feel good to use. There are obvious things, such as Nix leading you to certain treasures, retrieving items from a distance, and being used for several puzzles, but he can also serve roles that aid in combat and stealth. You can use Nix to sabotage items and provide a distraction, have him pickpocket people or pull the pin off of Stormtrooper grenades, or even have him assist you to cheat when playing Sabacc. He's integrated so seamlessly into your skill toolbox, that in the rare instances where you're separated it truly feels as though you've lost part of your skillset.

Overall, the visuals, motion capture, and audio design are top notch. Everything looks, feels, and sounds like classic Star Wars. It's clear that a lot of love and care went into crafting the experience, and it's refreshing to see blasters actually matter in Star Wars. The writing, on the other hand, suffers a bit. While the overall story is fine, it does include a few plot twists that seem to exist solely because that's what the franchise has become known for. And while it's nice that it stays away from the main plot of the movies, rarely implementing characters we know or trying to connect Kay to the larger mythos, it does suffer by having Kay be a borderline Mary Sue, with even her worst qualities and traits being treated less as flaws and more as ways that she's strong.

I enjoyed my time with the game, and, as stated, it is a refreshing take on the Star Wars license. It suffers from the usual Ubisoft bloat, but does a good job of introducing fun mechanics without diluting the greater Star Wars mythos. I'd love to see a follow up or spiritual successor that takes the underlying premise and allows it to stand more on its own without being tied down by the conventions of the franchise. A good plot twist in media can make you reevaluate prior events and blow you away, but when a plot twist becomes an expected norm, it makes it all the easier to see coming, which hurts the plot of Outlaws, in my opinion. Sadly, the game did not perform well financially, so a follow up, especially one willing to take a bold swing, seems incredibly unlikely.